Centennial Charmed
by AedhgsH
Summary: Since I was so upset with the way they didn't resolve the whole Leo/Piper thing in this episode, I decided to write the missing scene. Enjoy!


Piper walked around the old club. It broke her heart that it had fallen to pieces. But when Prue died, it died also. It wasn't P3 anymore.

_But if what this woman, Paige, says is true, then that means the Charmed Ones still exist. _She thought. _And so does P3. _The club meant a lot to Piper. To her, it hadn't just been a club. It had represented the fact that though she was a witch, she could still uphold a normal job. It represented the bond, that unfailing, unbroken bond, the three sisters had.

She thought back to what Paige had said. All she had talked about gave Piper a range of emotions, going from shock to wistful. The fact that Shax was defeated threw her off. She had become obsessed with avenging Prue's death that she'd thrown her life away. Her life with Leo.

He was sitting not far from her, looking ahead, deep in his own thoughts. In the other...world? She wasn't sure of the right word. Whatever it was, there she and Leo lived happily. They lived married, with a baby on the way.

Piper placed her hand over her stomach. Smiling, she imagined a baby growing underneath her palm. 

Leo thought about what Paige had said. If it was true, it sounded like heaven compared to the life he led now. He hadn't wanted to leave Piper, but she'd hid herself behind vanquishing Shax that is had consumed her. He couldn't stand watching her go through it. It had been heart wrenching to see Piper go to a place that he couldn't follow; to go to a place that he couldn't get her out of. He glanced at her, who had her hand over her stomach. Smiling, he walked to her side. 

"Just imagine...a baby." he spoke softly, allowing himself to fantasize about it. He saw himself next to her, kissing their baby, in complete awe of helping to bring another being into the world.

Piper allowed herself to imagine it also. She saw herself with Leo, together in their nursery, watching over their child. From the crib came gentle cooing noises as they listened, marvelling at how much love they could have for such a small thing.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be great?" she gave a small smile, her hand still on her belly. 

"What power do you think she'll have?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation up. It was wonderful to be on speaking terms again. 

"Hmm, I don't know. Most likely healing, being half-whitelighter." Piper said. "Why do you think the baby would've been a she?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling, I guess. And also looking that the Warren line, I think the assumption of a girl makes sense."

"Think about what we could've had." she said. Leo wrinkled his brow.

"Are you trying to blame this on me?" he asked, offended that she'd pick a fight now. Why'd she have to go and ruin the moment?

"No!" she paused. "But you were the one who filed for divorce." she couldn't help but point out. They would be together if it weren't for him.

"You think I wanted to?" she didn't respond. "You don't honestly think I wanted to stop being your husband?"

"What was I supposed to think Leo?" she stepped away, angry. "You married me. Promised to be with me for the rest of you life. And then, one day, out of the blue, you want a divorce. No one forced you to."

"You did." his voice began to rise.

"Don't you _dare_ try to blame the divorce on me." her voice was venomous. He had no right to place the blame on her. 

"After Prue's death, you became obsessed with killing Shax." Leo said, his voice calmer, slightly more understanding. "You didn't care about our marriage, your family. You didn't care about moving on. And I...I just couldn't stand seeing you put yourself through it."

"Killing Shax is the only way for me _to _move." she spoke through gritted teeth in an effort to curb her anger. Her jaw ached from the force.

"Let's say you _do _vanquish Shax and avenge Prue's death. Do you think that's going to make everything better? Prue will still be gone and that hole in you will still be empty."

Piper blinked. He was right. Killing Shax wouldn't make anything better. 

"But why then, in that other world," she put quotation marks in the air as if to prove how silly she thought the whole notion was. "Shax is vanquished and I seem happy?" she asked in a last effort to win the argument. She wanted to blame the divorce on Leo. It wasn't her fault. It really wasn't, she convinced herself.

"Because of Paige." he whispered. Piper widened her eyes and took a quick intake of breath, incredulous of what he was saying.

"She could _never_ replace Prue."

"And she hasn't." Leo put his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "She never will and she doesn't want. Think about it Piper. In the other reality, the one with her, we're all happy. We're still married and the Charmed Ones are reunited. Just by the existence of this one woman." he spoke gently, understanding her pain and resentment.

"Listen, I don't want to argue with you." he said, taking her face in his hands.

"Me neither."

"We agree on something." he spoke with fiened shock, the slight laughter evident in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't want to argue with myself either." she laughed as Leo gently nudged her arm. 

"Do you blame me for Prue's death?" he asked, changing topics. Piper froze, staring at Leo, uneasy about where the conversation had turned to.

"W-what?"

"I need to know. I've been carrying that with me since her death. Because I couldn't save her, do you blame me?" he spoke quietly, afraid of her answer. He maintained eye contact with Piper, but she wanted to look at anything else. But their eyes were like magnets, always being drawn to each other.

"No," she said finally. "I don't blame you." Leo let out a sigh of relief. "I was angry at you and the Elders because you couldn't, but I never blamed you. I was just angry."

"Thank God." He wrapped his arms around Piper, bringing her close.

"I was angry at the entire world." she continued, speaking into his shoulder. Though her voice was muffled, Leo picked up on the tightness as memories surfaced. He could hear the pain and her reluctance to talk about Prue's death. 

"I didn't know why she had to go. I still don't know why. So many people were taken from me. Why? It isn't right." Piper continued, her eyes stinging. "There was Mom, Grams, Prue...an-and you." she looked hesitantly up at him, her eyes shining from tears. 

Leo looked down at her, startled by what she'd said. "I'm right here. I won't leave you again, I promise." He gave her a slight squeeze to reassure her. 

Piper placed her head back onto his shoulder, grateful to be near him again. She'd missed him so much. It had been an ache, an ache that refused to disappear. The ache lessened somewhat though, as she stood there in his arms. She felt safe, she felt peaceful. She felt loved.

"I'm sorry." she said, apologizing for being so selfish. After Prue's death and the divorce, all she'd cared about was her feelings, only concerning herself with _her_ pain, _her_ loss. Piper had never really acknowledged anyone else's grieving. 

"I'm sorry too." Leo said, still hold her. He gave her a kiss on the top of her head, recalling every agonizing breath her took while asking for their divorce, a choice he regretted everyday. That was a request he should never have asked. Instead of running away, Leo should've been there for his wife, comforting her during her sorrow. 

The two of them simply stood there, holding each other. Their future seemed somewhat less scary, knowing they would face it together.

************

Cole was talking to Phoebe, but Piper wasn't listening. She constantly glanced at Leo, as if to reassure herself that he was really there. If we vanquish Cole, she thought, all this could be gone. True, she would go to the "world" where she was married and expecting, but all that, it seemed like a dream, a fantasy. _This _was her reality.

"Leo," she whispered, taking a hold of his hand to give her strength.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say, um," she started. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, refusing to look at him. She was puzzled at why this was so hard. She knew Leo wouldn't leave her again, he'd given his word and she believed him. She knew that she once again had someone there for her, someone to lean on. But there was one piece missing. 

"Yeah Piper?" he asked. She swallowed hard. It should just spill out of her mouth, come out naturally. She'd said it numerous times, so why was it so different now?

"Well, if this works, you know, we vanquish Cole and everything, we might go back to that other reality and not remember anything. But then again, everything might just stay the same." she shook her head, her eyes still remaining ahead. She let out a nervous laugh. "That's not really the point, is it? No, of course not. The thing is, that I just wanted to say that in this reality, our reality, I still, I mean I always have really,well, you know," she stammered. 

Piper turned her head and looked directly at him and their eyes met. She saw in them love. Love so great, it could stretch through time, realities, space, and so much more. Whatever was in it's way, love could make it through. Suddenly, it wasn't so hard anymore. 

"Love you." she finished. The words poured out of her mouth, coming out naturally. Just as it should. 

"I love you too. Always have and always will." he promised, grinning. Amidst all the words, amidst all her stammering, he knew how deeply her words ran. Those three simple words were the most powerful, most magical in all the world. 

Leo took a hold of her hand a squeezed it. Slowly he leaned in to kiss her, as if to seal their unspoken promise, the promise that they would move on in their lives--together. Their lips were a fraction apart, but a blinding light ruined the moment.

They turned to see Cole surrounded by a bright light, but only briefly before exploding.

************

"Hi sweetie." Leo said, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around his wife. "How do you feel?"

"Well, lets see." Piper said, absent mindedly rubbing her enlarged stomach. "I'm as big as and elephant and growing, my husband and sisters are still conspiring against me to have an at home birth when all I want is a sterile hospital, full of drugs and doctors and I feel absolutely useless. So I'd say just fine" Together they laughed at her sarcasm. 

"I love you." he whispered in her ear. He'd come into the kitchen to tell Piper. He felt some mysterious pull to say those three words, those powerful words.

"I love you too." she responded, her voice low, mirroring her husband's. She'd been about to tell Leo the same thing. She also felt an unexplainable pull to say those words, those magical words. She turned around and kissed him. That kiss was just as emotive as those words. A kiss was just as important as "I love you," for it sealed that promise.

That promise was that their love could reach through time, through alternate universes, through any obstacles that stood in its way. 


End file.
